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21 Dec. 2018 - 08 Jan. 2019

Jonathan Middleton Appointed as Executive Director of Art Metropole

Following a wide-ranging search, the Board of Directors of Art Metropole has appointed Jonathan Middleton as Art Metropole’s next director.

A champion of artist-initiated publishing, research, and experimentation, Middleton comes to Art Metropole with recent experience at Information Office, a design and publishing collaboration in Vancouver. Jonathan Middleton began his career in Vancouver as Curator of Western Front Exhibitions in 1999, and served as Director/Curator at Or Gallery from 2007 to 2017. Middleton has organized exhibitions and projects in Vancouver, Berlin, Montreal, Seattle, and Melbourne. A strong advocate for artists, Middleton was a founding member of the Artist Run Centres and Collectives Conference, the founding publisher of the contemporary art journal Fillip and has worked in an advisory capacity with Canada Council for the Arts, BC Arts Council, Emily Carr University of Art & Design, and The Sobey Art Foundation.

As director of Art Metropole, Middleton will assume executive leadership of one Canada’s oldest artist-run-centres as it enters its 45th year. In September 2018, Art Metropole successfully initiated a 2-year residency at the Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto (MOCA Toronto). Part pop-up project, part bookstore, part programming centre, this accessible and experimental new space offers a renewed vision for the distribution of artist’s books and multiples—in Toronto, in Canada and internationally. Art Metropole continues to expand its distribution capacities and operates an offsite office and distribution centre, allowing AM to increase its digital presence and fulfilment while expanding its services to artists by introducing their work to new communities and collectors.

Kathleen McLean, president of Art Metropole’s Board of Directors, said, “The Board is thrilled to welcome Jonathan Middleton, a knowledgeable and respected leader of artist-run-culture to Art Metropole and Toronto. We also extend our gratitude to Danielle St Amour for her vision and dedication to Art Metropole.”

Jonathan Middleton said, “Art Metropole holds a unique position within Canada’s artist-run network and has an exciting history of publishing and disseminating artists’ books and editions. I’m thankful to the search committee and the entire Board of Directors, and look forward to serving Art Metropole’s audiences and the artists’ community during this time of Art Metropole’s renewal and growth.”

Founded in 1974, Art Metropole is a not-for-profit organization with a focus on the production, dissemination and contextualization of artist-initiated publication in any media, especially those formats and practices predisposed to sharing and circulation. Art Metropole is a not-for-profit corporation incorporated under the laws of the province of Ontario and a registered charitable organization that relies on a variety of funding sources for its activities. Please consider supporting Art Metropole with an end of year donation.

Art Metropole is a non-profit artist-run centre incorporated in 1974. We'd like to thank the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the City of Toronto through the Toronto Arts Council, as well as our donors for their support.

Your donation assists in the development of contemporary art practices and programs for the general public.